Methods and systems for providing global internet protocol (IP) addresses

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11032239-B1
Application number	US-201916704954-A
Country	US
Kind code	B1
Filing date	Dec 5, 2019
Priority date	Dec 5, 2019
Publication date	Jun 8, 2021
Grant date	Jun 8, 2021

Abstract

Aspects of the subject disclosure may include, for example, receiving, from a first network, a first request for a first global internet protocol (IP) address that is to be allocated to a first device that is provisioned on the first network, the first device being provisioned on the first network prior to allocation of the first global IP address, the first device being provisioned on the first network via use of a first subscriber identity that is associated with the first device and that is recognized by the first network, the first request including the first subscriber identity; generating, responsive to the first request, the first global IP address, the first global IP address enabling communication with the first device when the first device is subsequently registered on a second network, the first subscriber identity being stored in a database as corresponding to the first global IP address that is generated; and sending, to the first network, the first global IP address that had been generated. Other embodiments are disclosed.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An apparatus, comprising:
a processing system including a processor; and
a memory that stores executable instructions that, when executed by the processing system, facilitate performance of operations, the operations comprising:
receiving, from a first network, a first request for a first global internet protocol (IP) address that is to be allocated to a first device that is provisioned on the first network, the first device being provisioned on the first network prior to allocation of the first global IP address, the first device being provisioned on the first network via use of a first subscriber identity that is associated with the first device and that is recognized by the first network, the first request including the first subscriber identity;
generating, responsive to the first request, the first global IP address, the first global IP address enabling communication with the first device when the first device is subsequently registered on a second network, the first subscriber identity being stored in a database as corresponding to the first global IP address that is generated;
sending, to the first network, the first global IP address that had been generated;
receiving, from the second network, a second request for a second global IP address that is to be allocated to a second device that is operative on the second network, the second device being registered on the second network prior to allocation of the second global IP address, the second device being registered on the second network via use of a second subscriber identity that is associated with the second device and that is recognized by the second network, the second request including the second subscriber identity;
generating, responsive to the second request, the second global IP address, the second global IP address enabling communication with the second device when the second device is subsequently registered on the first network, the second subscriber identity being stored in the database as corresponding to the second global IP address that is generated; and
sending, to the second network, the second global IP address that had been generated.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the first global IP address is a first IPV6 address, and wherein the second global IP address is a second IPV6 address.

3. The apparatus of claim 2 , wherein the first global IP address is generated based upon a first characteristic of the first device, and wherein the second global IP address is generated based upon a second characteristic of the second device.

4. The apparatus of claim 3 , wherein the first characteristic is a first MAC address, and wherein the second characteristic is a second MAC address.

5. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the first device comprises a first internet-of-things (IoT) device, and the second device comprises a second IoT device.

6. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the operations further comprise polling the first device at the first global IP address to determine whether the first device is, at a time of the polling, registered on the first network.

7. The apparatus of claim 6 , wherein the polling is carried out periodically.

8. The apparatus of claim 6 , wherein the operations further comprise:
responsive to a determination that, at the time of the polling, the first device is not registered on the first network, releasing the first global IP address for subsequent allocation to another device.

9. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein:
the first network comprises a first wireless carrier network; and
the second network comprises a second wireless carrier network.

10. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein:
the processing system of the first network is part of a first server; and
the apparatus comprises a second server.

11. A method, comprising:
receiving by a processing system of a global internet protocol (IP) address broker, from a first network, a request for a global IP address that is to be associated with a device that is registered on the first network, the device being registered on the first network via use of a subscriber identity that is associated with the device and that is recognized by the first network, the device being registered on the first network prior to association of the global IP address with the device, and the request including the subscriber identity;
generating by the processing system, responsive to the request, the global IP address, the global IP address being associated in a database by the processing system along with the subscriber identity;
sending, to the first network, the global IP address that had been generated; and
determining by the processing system that the device is subsequently registered on a second network, the determining being based at least in part upon the global IP address being associated in the database along with the subscriber identity.

12. The method of claim 11 , wherein the determining is further based upon a communication associated with the device that is received from the second network while the device is registered on the second network.

13. The method of claim 11 , wherein:
the device comprises an internet-of-things (IoT) device; and
the global IP address broker comprises a server.

14. The method of claim 11 , wherein the request for the global IP address is sent to the global IP address broker by the first network responsive to a connection request being received by the first network from the device.

15. The method of claim 11 , further comprising:
receiving by the processing system, from the second network, another request for another global IP address that is to be associated with another device that is registered on the second network, the another device being registered on the second network via use of another subscriber identity that is associated with the another device and that is recognized by the second network, the another device being registered on the second network prior to association of the another global IP address with the another device, and the another request including the another subscriber identity;
generating by the processing system, responsive to the another request, the another global IP address, the another global IP address being associated in the database by the processing system along with the another subscriber identity;
sending, to the second network, the another global IP address that had been generated; and
determining by the processing system that the another device is subsequently registered on a third network, the determining that the another device is subsequently registered on the third network being based at least in part upon the another global IP address being associated in the database along with the another subscriber identity.

16. The method of claim 15 , wherein the determining that the another device is subsequently registered on the third network is further based upon a communication associated with the another device that is received from the third network while the another device is registered on the third network.

17. A non-transitory machine-readable medium comprising executable instructions that, when executed by a processing system of a first network including a processor, facilitate performance of operations, the operations comprising:
receiving from a first device a first request for a connection to the first network, the first device having a first subscriber identity that is recognized by the first network and that is utilized to facilitate the connection;
sending to a global internet protocol (IP) address broker outside of th

Assignees

• At & T Ip I Lp
• At & T Mobility Ii Llc
• At&T Intellectual Propety I L P

Inventors

• Maria Arturo
• Farah Jeffrey Joseph

Classifications

• H04L2101/622

  Layer-2 addresses, e.g. medium access control [MAC] addresses · CPC title

• H04L61/5084 Primary

  Providing for device mobility (network addressing or numbering for mobility support in wireless networks H04W8/26; mobile IP H04W80/04) · CPC title

• H04L61/5007

  Internet protocol [IP] addresses · CPC title

• H04W8/18

  Processing of user or subscriber data, e.g. subscribed services, user preferences or user profiles; Transfer of user or subscriber data · CPC title

• H04L67/12

  specially adapted for proprietary or special-purpose networking environments, e.g. medical networks, sensor networks, networks in vehicles or remote metering networks · CPC title